{{Short description|Unionist politician in Northern Ireland (1929–2020)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2016}} {{Use British English|date=November 2016}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Charles Poots | office = Member of Lisburn Borough Council | constituency = Downshire | term_start = 15 May 1985 | term_end = 21 May 1997 | predecessor = ''District created'' | successor = Edwin Poots | constituency1 = Lisburn Area B | term_start1 = 30 May 1973 | term_end1 = 15 May 1985 | predecessor1 = ''District created'' | successor1 = ''District abolished'' | office2 = Member of the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention <br> for North Down | term_start2 = 1975 | term_end2 = 1976 | office3 = Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly <br> for North Down | term_start3 = 1973 | term_end3 = 1975 | birth_date = 1929 | birth_place = | death_date = 23 April 2020 | party = DUP (1971 - 2020) | other_party = Protestant Unionist Party (1969 - 1971) }} '''Charles Boucher "Charlie" Poots''' (1929 – 23 April 2020)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/dup-founding-member-and-edwin-poots-father-charlie-passes-away-39151392.html|title=DUP founding member and Edwin Poots' father Charlie passes away|newspaper=Belfasttelegraph|via=www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk}}</ref> was a Northern Irish unionist politician and farmer, known for being one of the founding members of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). ==Political career== Poots joined Ian Paisley's Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, acting as Treasurer of the Hillsborough church. He also joined the Protestant Unionist Party (PUP), standing unsuccessfully for the group in Iveagh at the 1969 Northern Ireland general election. The PUP soon reformed as the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), and Poots was elected to Lisburn Borough Council at the 1973 local elections. He also won a seat in North Down at the 1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election.<ref name="flackes">William D. Flackes, ''Northern Ireland: a political directory, 1968–83'', p.179</ref> Contemporary reports claim that he started a fist-fight at the Assembly in December, after throwing a punch at Basil McIvor<ref>"Fists fly in Ulster Assembly", ''Montreal Gazette'', 6 December 1973</ref> and he was suspended in 1974 for one day after calling Brian Faulkner a "lying tramp".<ref name="flackes" />
Poots held his North Down seat on the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention in 1975, but he lost it at the 1982 Assembly election.<ref name="flackes" /> In 1976, shots were fired at his car while driving through the predominantly Irish nationalist Markets area of Belfast.<ref>"Shot fired at Paisley supporter", ''Glasgow Herald'', 1 June 1976</ref>
He held his Lisburn council seat until 1997, serving as Deputy Mayor in 1991/2.<ref>Sydney Elliot and William D. Flackes, ''Conflict in Northern Ireland: an encyclopedia'', p.394</ref>
His son, Edwin Poots, later became a DUP member of the Northern Ireland Assembly.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/mlas/details.aspx?&aff=13374&per=90&c=2|title=Mr Edwin Poots|website=Northern Ireland Assembly|access-date=9 June 2021}}</ref> Edwin was elected to the leadership of the party on 15 May 2021, effective from 28 May.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-57121825|title=Edwin Poots is elected DUP leader|work=BBC News|date=14 May 2021}}</ref>
Charlie Poots died in April 2020, at the age of 90.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/dups-edwin-poots-mourns-death-of-politician-father-at-the-age-of-90-39152786.html|title=DUP's Edwin Poots mourns death of politician father at the age of 90|newspaper=Belfasttelegraph|via=www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk}}</ref>
==References== <references />
{{s-start}} {{s-par|ni/ass73}} {{s-new | assembly}} {{s-ttl | title = Assembly Member for North Down | years = 1973–1974 }} {{s-non | reason = Assembly abolished }} {{s-par|ni/cc}} {{s-new | Convention}} {{s-ttl | title = Member for North Down | years = 1975–1976 }} {{s-non | reason = Convention dissolved }} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poots, Charles}} Category:1929 births Category:2020 deaths Category:Members of Lisburn City Council Category:Democratic Unionist Party councillors Category:Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly 1973–1974 Category:Members of the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention